Monte Battaglia, Mountain summit in Casola Valsenio, Italy

Monte Battaglia is a mountain summit in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, in the province of Ravenna, sitting between two river valleys. At the top stand the ruins of a medieval fortress, and a mountain shelter just below the peak offers a place to rest during the climb.

The fortress at the top was first recorded in 1154 and served for centuries as a strategic point between the valleys. During World War II, the mountain saw heavy fighting between German and Allied forces, and those events shaped the way the site is remembered today.

The mountain's name, recorded in the Middle Ages as "Monte de Batalla", is of uncertain origin: some link it to a 6th-century battle between Goths and Byzantines, others to the Lombard word "pataia", a fluttering piece of cloth. At the foot of the ruins stands the bronze Monument to Resistance, Liberation and Peace among Peoples by sculptor Aldo Rontini, placed in 1988 and flanked by plaques to the fallen of the different sides.

The summit is reached by marked trails that work well for hikers with different levels of experience. The mountain shelter just below the top is a good stopping point if the weather turns or you need a break before continuing.

The 350th Regiment of the U.S. 88th Infantry Division took the name "Mount Battaglia" after the October 1944 fighting, and the mountain's toponym itself is debated: some trace it to a 6th-century Gothic-Byzantine battle, others to the Lombard word "pataia", a fluttering rag.